Birthdays have the opposite effect on me.
When my birthdays hit, I allow myself a brief moment of retrospection that always ends up as a gut-wrenchingly humiliating experience a la "you are such a complete idiot."
It would be great to be able to say "another year older, another year wiser." But... no, mostly it feels like those moments after spending a night out drinking. Because...
The next morning, you don't just awake.... Something compells you to bolt upright out of bed.... sweating, with fear. "My God".... you tell yourself.... "What have I done?"